Avery Turns Two

 I really am behind, so here goes.

It was Avery's birthday last month.

He loves "Dinys" so his party was dino themed.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the party.

Picked up a used Cozy Coupe and brought it with us all the way from MI!

He LOVED it

Playing trucks with papa.

With both grandmas and one of his great grandma's on the left.

Gigi and Papa picked up the balloons.

I had the get the "Diny" bundle.

With his mama and dad.

Probably my favorite photo from all that I took.

He had a blue ring pop and this was when he realized his tongue had turned blue, LOL.

It was such a fun day and I wish I could slow down time.

He is my favorite and my heart.

Gigi loves you Bubba!

~XOP~

One Year Celebration

 

One year ago today I made the decision to break up with alcohol.

Ironically, part of this decision was because of the increased risk (10%) of breast cancer.

CLEARLY, that didn't work out for me!!

I have been working on becoming the best version of myself physically and mentally.

Alcohol has not been my friend.

I am not going to go into detail here but trust when I say this needed to happen.

I am MUCH happier today than I was one year ago.

I firmly believe this helped me when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.

I never once wanted to have a drink, even after diagnosis.

God spoke to me and told me I would be ok.

I believed Him.

So far the bc is at bay and I am NED (no evidence of disease).

I'm not sure I would have heard this as clearly if I had not been AF.

Has it been easy?

Most of the time it was, actually.

Once I make up my mind and know my decision is the right one, yes.

Most of the time, anyway.

I still think it would be great to have a glass of wine now and then but then I remember.

I remember how it made me feel.

I remember not remembering.

I remember the disappointment on my family's faces.

I remember feeling like I failed, myself and everyone else.

SO, I refrain.

I'm happy to do this for the BIG payoff!

I am happy to do this for my health, both physical and mental.

I am happy to do this for MYSELF!

Because at the end of the day, it is for myself that I came to this decision.

So raise a glass of whatever you like and help me celebrate

ONE YEAR ALCOHOL FREE!!

I am free!

Next post will be back to quilty content, promise.

~XOP~

Halloween in NC

 We have stayed in NC and happily celebrated Halloween with Avery and company.

Avery was a "Diny" (Dinosaur)

I found this hoodie and they added the tail.

PERFECT!

Avery got to meet Pikachu.

I don't think he was really wild about the Kit Kat he got to eat.

Most of it ended up on his face and in his hands, LOL.

It was a great night and we were so happy to be able to spend it with Avery and his family.

Happy Halloween y'all!

~XOP~

More Time In Berlin, Ohio

 Fall is such a gorgeous time in Ohio (and Michigan).

  The time in Berlin was no exception.

We went to the Swiss Village while we were there too.

The mums are so beautiful!

Life sized cukoo clock.

Found a friend while shopping.

Onto NC in the next posts.

~XOP~

I Am So Far Behind On My Blogging

 Life seems to be moving at warp speed lately.  

We left for Berlin, OH in September then on to NC for a few months.

  I will catch you up with what we did in Berlin.  It may take a few posts.

We were camping in Berlin, OH by our friend, Kailie and her parents.  

We had a really great time. 

 I did some sewing with Kailie and her mom and finished my Trick-Or-Treat Midi bags.

These are the 4 bags I made.

The first one is for Avery and the other three are for Our friend, Amy, three girls.

We stopped in at Holmes Brooms.

Mel still makes all these corn brooms by hand!

The process was amazing.

The skies were so cool when we were there, 

Not every day looked like this but this one was very cool!

Quilt shop hopping with Kailie.

I scored some awesome vintage table cloths at one of the antique shops in Berlin.

Found those great Big Ten glasses for a Christmas gift too!

Amish buggies.

I never get tired of seeing these!

More soon!

~XOP~

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

 Everyone knows this saying.  

Meags and Me are at it again and have the most adorable patterns to go with this line of fabric!

  I had the pleasure of testing the machine embroidery for one of their patterns.

  Patterns for this line will be available in November.  

I only had time to make one of each, but look forward to making more once we get back home. 

 I don't want to lug my BIG machine and embroidery unit around in the camper 

so it will wait until I get home. 

 I have permission to share the work I have done so far.

I opted for teals, navies and golds for the color palette.

Which animal is your favorite?
I am having trouble deciding!

They are all pretty cute!

I am anxious for this pattern so I can make a quilt with these cuties!

~XOP~

Quite Contrary

 I finished all the hand work on this quilt last year.  

There is an EXTENSIVE amount of hand embroidery on this quilt. 

 I sent it to my LAQ and she put flowers and ladybugs on it. 

 Perfect!  

I finally managed to get it bound. 

 I just love it! 

 It was a pattern test for Meags and Me.  

The pattern is now available for purchase.

She is my favorite part of the entire quilt.  

I can see using this color combo more.

Teal and yellow are so great together! 

This is such a sweet quilt.

You may need to make one too!!

~XOP~